The 10 best new gadgets were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. Picture: Supplied

From triple camera, water-resistant, 4K smartphones to portable projectors that turn anything into a computer, mobile technology appeared to get smarter and more promising.

The show even hosted the return of the Nokia 3310, and we live in hope that it will get a 3G upgrade to work in Australia.

Below are our top 10 picks from the show, most of which will launch this year.

LG G6

Due: March 28

It feels like LG beat Samsung to the punch with this smartphone that boasts a big screen inside a surprisingly small body. The enviable 5.7-inch screen on this phone runs almost the full length of the handset, with its new 18:9 aspect ratio and tiny borders.

Its double camera set-up is again used to deliver a choice between a standard and wide-angled view, or a 2x optical zoom, and its body is water-resistant.

In the hand, it is so much more refined and well built than last year’s modular effort, users might not recognise it as coming from the same company.

The LG G6 smartphone, due in Australia this March, will feature a larger than typical screen format. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Due: June

This Sony smartphone has three great strengths: good looks, world-first screen technology, and a camera with unusual talents.

The Premium version of the Xperia XZ is the first handset to feature a 4K HDR-compatible screen for making the most of movies on the small screen, and it’s also taken its camera talents to the next level. By adding memory to the phone’s image sensor, Sony can deliver super slow-motion video capture, at 960 frames per second, and capture three images before users actually hit the shutter button.

The phone also looks slick, with an almost seamless chrome finish, though the mirrored silver finish could prove divisive for those who don’t like to see their reflections often.

Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium features a camera offering super slow-motion video capture. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Huawei P10+

Due: May/June

The popular Chinese phone maker made its intentions clear at Mobile World Congress: it wants to corner the smartphone camera market and it’s willing to team with big imaging names to do it.

The new Huawei phone features an updated version of its dual camera developed with Leica, this time featuring a wider aperture for better lowlight photography, and it’s also added a Leica Portrait mode that scans the subject’s face.

A new partnership with Pantone also means the phone will be available in the colour of 2017, Greenery, and its 5.5-inch screen is housed in a body noticeably smaller than that of the iPhone 7 Plus.

The Huawei P10 and the larger P10+ feature upgraded dual cameras co-engineered by Leica. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Samsung Galaxy Book

Due: 2017

While other companies delivered smartphones, Samsung switched its focus to tablets this year. The Galaxy Book deserves attention despite its large size, however, as the 12-inch version of this tablet could give Microsoft’s Surface chills.

The Windows 10 tablet features one of Intel’s new Kaby Lake chips, up to 8GB RAM and 256GB solid-state storage, and it adds handy accessories including an included stylus you don’t have to charge, and a keyboard cover with keys that make typing comfortable. There’s no word on a release date in Australia, though Samsung says they will release a 4G version of the Book locally.

The Samsung Galaxy Book is a tablet computer due to go head-to-head with Microsoft’s Surface. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Sony Xperia Touch

Due: 2017

This unassuming box has the power to turn any flat surface into a computer. An early version of the Xperia Touch debuted at Mobile World Congress last year but this year the smart projector is polished, upgraded, and almost ready for sale.

The device now runs Google Android software and can display apps on a dinner table. What’s more, sensors in the front of the device register what part of the projected images you tap, letting you type on a tabletop keyboard, slice melons on a 23-inch Fruit Ninja canvas, or play a virtual piano.

New software being added to the device will also let users control the device with finger gestures, Minority Report-style, when it projects images on to a wall.

The Sony Xperia Touch is a projector that can turn any flat surface into an interactive computer. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Alcatel A5 LED

Due: May

The most striking thing about this budget smartphone cannot be seen on its face. Flip it over, and you’ll discover a unique back cover that lights up with coloured LEDs whenever you receive a notifications.

The lights can even be triggered by shaking the phone, or will play in synch with music. Beyond the light show, this $299 prepaid phone features a 5.2-inch high-definition screen, Google Android software, and a five megapixel camera with flash upfront for selfies.

The Alcatel A5 LED phone features a back panel that lights up when it receives a message. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Motorola Moto Mods

Due: 2017

Motorola is the last company producing a modular phone — both Google and LG backed away from the nifty but difficult concept — and new additions or “mods” for its Moto Z look promising.

Arguably the most exciting is an Amazon Echo speaker you can attach to the back of this phone, turning it into a phone on one side and smart, internet-savvy assistant on the other. More Moto Mods include one that lets the phone charge wirelessly, and another that adds game controls and makes it look like a Nintendo Switch.

Lenovo’s range of Moto Mods phone accessories grew at Mobile World Congress. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Oppo 5x Dual Camera Zoom

Due: TBA

It’s a unique phone camera that doesn’t yet have a phone to call home. Oppo used Mobile World Congress to unveil new camera technology that offers a 3x optical zoom and, it says, the equivalent of a 5x optical zoom using digital help.

The Chinese manufacturer says it achieves the feat using two cameras working together: one with a wide-angle lens and the other with a telephoto lens positioned horizontally for extra length, which it says was inspired by a submarine’s periscope. There’s no word on when the camera technology will debut inside a handset, however.

Oppo’s 5X Dual Camera Zoom is technology that promises lossless 5x Zoom in a phone camera for the first time. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Huawei Watch 2

Due: May/June

Huawei’s second smartwatch is focused on fitness. The chunky, classically styled sports watch features GPS technology to track your runs, continuous heart-rate tracking, an app to tell you whether you’re in “fat-burn” or “cardio” mode, and an app to track your daily steps and how often you stay seated for long periods each day.

The Watch 2 also supports Android Pay so, if your bank allows it, you can tap your timepiece at the register to pay for goods.

The Huawei Watch 2 has a fitness focus. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

LG Watch Style

Due: TBA

LG has produced one of the more attractive smartwatches in its Watch Style, on show in Barcelona, though there’s no word on whether it will make an Australian appearance.

The smartwatch is the company’s first to feature Android Wear 2.0 software and its crown can twisted down to reveal notifications, or pressed to show stored apps. Its round face and slim body should also appeal to fashionable users, however it lacks a heart-rate monitor, GPS tracking, or NFC for payments.

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to Barcelona as a guest of Sony Mobile